2005 Sports Games

[Joeiss]

I don't know about you guys, but I am totally pumped up for several sports games this fall. I will definitely be renting Madden 2005 to try out its even more in depth Dynasty mode. I will also rent ESPN Football 2K5 because if it is good, hell I really don't mind spending minimal money on it.

With the chances of there being no hockey this upcoming season, it makes me want to play it in a videogame even more, lol. Now are all ESPN sports games cheap this fall? Because if they are, I might have to go with ESPN Hockey this year if they have a decent dynasty mode.

And for the basketball games, all of this offseason signings and trades makes me want to build up the Raptors and win some titles! If a cap is in place in both games, and they have decent dynasty modes, it is seriously a toss up of which game I would purchase.

What about you guys? NCAA and ESPN Football are coming out this week. Will you be getting any of them? And what other Sports games are you getting this fall? Sega, EA, or a mix?

[Acebot44]

I'm getting ESPN Football for sure, but I want to try out NCAA just for the dynasty mode which is my favorite part of all sports games.

According to EB, all the other ESPN's are still the full 50. I'm still going to get ESPN NBA though, but the fact that Live has brough back All-Star Weekend (Shootout, Dunk Contest(YES DUNK CONTEST), etc.) has got me torn in my decision. I have to wait and see what ESPN has to offer and hope that they lower their price too.

[Typhoid]

I dont really like the ESPN games, i dont know why, im not saying that they are bad, i just like EA a little more.

But i cant wait for NHL 2005, and considering Naslund is the coverboy for it, that makes it better. :p

I want to get the newest EA baseball game, i have no idea if its out or not, but i want it when its out, or when i hear that its out.

Same with Basketball and Madden 2005, i want all of these games, considering i like all of these sports.

[Stonecutter]

I'm getting ESPN Football for sure, but I want to try out NCAA just for the dynasty mode which is my favorite part of all sports games.

According to EB, all the other ESPN's are still the full 50. I'm still going to get ESPN NBA though, but the fact that Live has brough back All-Star Weekend (Shootout, Dunk Contest(YES DUNK CONTEST), etc.) has got me torn in my decision. I have to wait and see what ESPN has to offer and hope that they lower their price too.
I know EB still lists the other ESPN games as 50, but they had the NFL2k5 as 50 up until a few weeks ago (when it was officially announced.) Which means that sega wants to wait and see how well it works with NFL2k5 and then they'll decide if they want to drop the prices on the others. I don't know for sure but I'm guessing the NBA games sell slightly better than the NHL games (though it wouldn't shock me if it were the other way around as Video hockey's popularity actually seems to be better than real hockey) and thus I would suspect that NBA2k5 might get the 19.99 treatment.

As for myself, as we speak I'm playing a little FSU vs UF in NCAA 2005, man I can't believe how much fun this game is. I must admit that sega could learn a thing or two from EA as far as presentation goes, but EA could defiantly learn something from SEGA in the Gameplay and Graphics departments.

NFL2k5 is shipping on Tuesday so I should have that by the end of next week and I can't wait to see how much they improved it. It'll be my 3rd year in a row with the series and I expect big things. NCAA has not turned me into a Madden supporter, but I defiantly have a new found respect for EA Sports. Because of this game I'm also seriously considering picking up Xbox Live.

The last hockey game I bought was Powerplay (? 989's hockey game) 98 for PS1, and the last good hockey game I bought was NHL 95 for the SNES and I think I'll change that this year. I'll have to try out both NHL 2005 and NHL2k5 before I decide.

[Joeiss]

I think I will also need to try both ESPN and NHL2005... I need a good dynasty mode, because I just love building teams, lol.... And yeah, so far all ESPN games are full price, besides Football... hopefully this changes, lol.

[Bond]

Does anyone know which has the deeper and/or better dynasty mode: Madden 2005 or NFL2K5? The only reason I'm wondering is because I'm considering getting NFL2K5 since it is so cheap.

[Typhoid]

Does anyone know which has the deeper and/or better dynasty mode: Madden 2005 or NFL2K5? The only reason I'm wondering is because I'm considering getting NFL2K5 since it is so cheap.



EA games usually goes deeper into it, i think its that way for Madden, because i know for NHL 2004 Dynasty was 20 consecutive seasons, so im guessing Madden will be up there somewhere.

[Null]

ESPN NHL 05 i'll get.

i'll skip on the EA NHL one tho, gotten burned the last couple years on that one. aside from the extra features like dynasty, its an arcade compared to ESPN's.

gameplay matters most to me because i prefer to play online. plus so far, the ESPN NHL have a better online community, less cheaters, better attitudes.

but i'll give the EA NHL demo a try when it comes out still.

[Joeiss]

Any word on dynasty in any of the ESPN games this fall? What was their season/dynasty modes like last year?

[Acebot44]

Here's what XBN says about the new ESPN Football franchise mode:

ESPN went all-out with its new weekly prep section that lets players customize nearly every aspect of their team's weekly training regiment. That's every detail--from what players lift in the weight room to how managment meetings play out--under your influence. A "Game Cast Live" feature runs a simulation of any season game, giving you play-by-play text descriptions of every down. You even have the option to jump in and change the outcome of the game. Football personalities Mel Kiper and Trey Wingo conduct a "Franchise Show" in whcih the two discuss your team at certain milestones.

and for the online players:

ESPN's biggest addition online this year is a VIP profile feature that records your play tendencies into downloadable capsules for others to compete against. That way, you can play against your friends even when they've gone outside to throw a real football.

The Verdict:

This summer, ESPN is out for blood. The game looks better than Madden, it's loaded with new features, and the hit animations are brutal and clean, but sadly, the controls still aren't as responsive as EA's champion. That said, we recommend you check out ESPN this year--Visual Concepts has added a good deal of personality and soul to videogame football and the genre is much better for it.

[Perfect Stu]

NCAA Football 2005 is in the mail
Madden 2005 I'll buy
ESPN NHL I'll buy
NBA Live is a maybe

[Jason1]

At 20 bucks, it just might be worth it to buy the new version every year. Sure isnt worth it at 50 bucks a pop though. Paying 50 bucks for nothing more than updated rosters is absurd. But 20 just might be worth it, especailly considering it's Sega's, which beat EA's.

[Acebot44]

ESPN NFL Football commercial (http://www.xblgamers.com/media/ESPNNFL2K5/ESPNTV1.wmv)

[Acebot44]

Alright, it's been announced that all ESPN sports games will be $20! I guess I'm going straight with Visual Concepts this year.

[Typhoid]

I dont know if i want ESPN 2K5....i watched the commercial, and IGN said this game will own my soul. Well, im very fond of my soul...


But i dont know, i might buy this and Madden....why not..

[Perfect Stu]

I might buy Madden 05 for PS2 (controller, most friends have PS2) and ESPN 05 for XBox since it's so cheap.

Sega will get more of my money this year...

ESPN NHL 2005 will also be mine at a $20 price tag.

[Joeiss]

Looks like I'll be getting NHL and NBA for sure then... I'd rather spend the extra money on beer and strippers.

[Stonecutter]

You know what sucks though.

MLB2k4 is still 39.99.

Now really, why not drop the price on that? I'd love to pick it up for 20$

[Joeiss]

Any word on the dynasty modes in ESPN NHL and NBA 2K5? How were they in 2K4? I need something to last me for a long time.

[Stonecutter]

2K5 came today, soon as the Coob game is over I'm going to fire it up, impressions forthcoming.

[Acebot44]

Any word on the dynasty modes in ESPN NHL and NBA 2K5? How were they in 2K4? I need something to last me for a long time.

The Dynasty in 2K4 was nothing great, but good enough. Hell, I started like 10 different dynasties. First with the Lakers then My High School team and finally a crappy team like Hawks. All champions in the first year though. The trade AI seems kind of stupid because I can take the Hawks and turn them into a contender (In Real Life) with just a few trades and signings. I havent heard anything about this years dynasty though. I hope they do something different and bring some excitement to that part of the game because it is what I play the most.

[Joeiss]

New information on the Dynasty mode in ESPN NHL 2K5. It is sounding quite nice with the scouting, coaching, and minor league teams!


ESPN Videogames is on a roll. First they shake up the football gaming world by offering the amazing NFL 2K5 for $19.99…in July, no less. And now they're preparing for the second release under the new 20-bones price plan, a game that should ease the ills of hockey fans upset that the real season might never get under way.

And to make sure that hockey gamers will be able to live out everything that would've happened if it wasn't for greed (which in this case, is not good), the developers of ESPN NHL 2K5 have completely overhauled their Franchise mode to focus on what matters most, the players. But before you sign players, you need someone to coach them, so when Franchise mode begins, that's exactly what you need to do, hire a coaching staff. From defensive and goalie coaches to scouts and even minor league coaches, you'll be given a coaching budget and depending on how much you want to spend for each position, that will go a long way in determining how you will shape your team. Some coaches are good leaders, some good motivators, some bring an aggressive style of play with them, and depending on how much you want to spend for each position, your coaching choices will end up having a profound impact on your team.

One of the main areas where the more you spend the better is scouting. You can send scouts off throughout the season to check out teams for potential trades. He'll come back with detailed reports about players, the good (great passer, good scorer), the bad (needs to toughen up, not physical enough), and even provide a stock rating of whether the player is on the rise or on the decline. Each player will be assigned a role like NHL Star or journeyman so casual fans can quickly tell the difference between Dany Heatley and Garnet Exelby. And since the scouts are looking at an entire team when they go on a trip, it really helps when looking for a younger player who you might not know in terms of throwing one last player into the trade as the scouts also offer projections of how they think certain players will perform in the future. The thing is, though, if you hire the cheapest scouts, their information might not always be accurate, so buyer beware.

Scouting also comes into play after each season as you can send your scouts scouring the world for the next hot prospect. In a 14-week period, you can send personnel to scout players in Asia, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, Scandinavia, and Western Europe. Scouting prospects will be fairly realistic in terms of origin, so you might want to send more scouts to Scandinavia than Asia, although you never know where you'll find that diamond in the rough…or in this case, ice.

When the scouts first come across certain prospects, all that you'll know about them is the basic info: Name, age, position. But as you invite the players to work out, you can actually put the players through the various mini-games from All-Star Weekend to test their skills, more will be known as even their various attribute ratings will begin to be filled in along with naming a comparably skilled player currently in the NHL. You can then even go in and play a game with all of the top prospects from a specific region to see if their attribute points turn into great players once the puck is dropped.

But that's not all there is to developing your prospects as once they've been drafted you can send them to your minor league team, a team who plays their games at the same time as your NHL season so you can actually check the stats on a game-by-game basis to see who is ready to be called up. Unfortunately, the game does not have the AHL license, so while the cities of all of the minor league teams might be accurate, there are no official team names. In addition, the rosters are comprised of real players as anyone who has laced up a pair of skates and has played at least on NHL game can be included, but any other prospects are purely fictitious in nature. Those who have the time, however, can always use the player editor to go in and change the names to make them as accurate as possible. And while you won't actually be able to go in and play the minor league games, you can manipulate the rosters and edit the lines in order to get certain players more playing time to see if they're ready for the call-up.

After each season, you'll be able to go in and check the satisfactory rating for each of your coaches, as a happy coach is more likely to do a better job, and just like anything, money might not be able to buy you love, but it sure buys happiness (especially when it comes to polygonal puck heads).

If you're not into the whole reality thing, NHL 2K5 also offers a couple of new features that will cater to the both the hardcore and the casual hockey fan. The first of these is called Dream Team mode. These are 20 Dream Teams handpicked by a variety of hockey personalities and players, from Gary Thorn to Chris Drury, as well as collections of players from specific regions in the world like Eastern Europe. Each person behind the teams picked out a logo, designed the uniforms, and selected the players, so while some are merely the best of the best, Drury's team is more of a collection of his best friends from the game and college buddies. This provides a cool challenge as you work your way up the ladder because you never know who you're going up against next.

The other new mode, might just be the most fan friendly and fun in the game, and it's called Party Mode. No, this has nothing to do with Carmen Electra (not that there's anything wrong with that), as Party Mode might just be the best new thing to hit hockey video games since the days of making Gretzky's head bleed. Here's how it works: There's Battle, Arcade Quick, Arcade Tour, and Elimination. The two arcade modes are basically no rules (you can adjust to include some rules if you want, but why would you), 2-on-2, 3-on-3, 4-on-4, or 5-on-5 games. Controls are set to basic pass-shoot-check, and if you win a fight, you can make it where you're actually awarded a goal. Elimination games are simple "First to X amount of goals wins" using the no rules rules of the two arcade games. But where Party Mode shines is in the game entitled Battle.

In Battle, each gamer (up to four) selects a specific hockey player to run through a variety of action-packed mini-games with names like Breakout and Gauntlet (Satan needs food, badly), only they'r enot the classic games you're thinking of. Instead they are every-man-for-himself tests of skill where one minute you might be racing through an obstacle course with the other three players chasing you, trying to knock you down and slow your time, while the next minute you're trying to score as many goals as possible. There are also games where you're teamed with another player as you try to pass the puck as accurately as possible on points of the ice designated by different point values. One of the most fun is freeze tag where the person who is it must check another player to make the tag. If you check the player who is it, you score bonus points, and you score even more by checking them over the boards. There are 15 mini-games in all and you'll even be able to play these games online, 2-on-2 or 3-on-1, depending on how many people you have over when you log on.

After playing through seven of these games, I have to say, I was quite addicted as it's a quick, hard hitting way to pass some time between franchises, especially when some friends come over as it's the type of thing that's easy to pick up and play, but you definitely have an advantage the more you learn the essential skills of the game, not to mention, memorize the obstacle courses.

When playing through the game on the Xbox, you'll also be able to customize all of the arena music. From the player intros, to fights, to specific songs played after each goal, it's all up to you. Hardcore fans can even put in all of the music specifically for every arena in the game to make things as real as possible, even if reality this season might just mean those arenas are empty.

The thing is, with a game this good, do you need the real thing? Okay, so I'd still rather see the Sharks win it all in real life, but at least with the game, I know there's a future for my team. I just wish I could say the same thing about the future of the real NHL.

It looks like the polygonal pucks might be the only ones that drop come September.

Notes: The game is scheduled to ship the week of September 12th, but look for it to ship early ala NFL 2K5. Online leagues with living rosters will be supported, as will widescreen 480p. Don't expect to see a NHL V.I.P. system as V.I.P. was built specifically for the NFL title. The Skybox has been enhanced and is more pimped out, even adding a second floor (when was the last time you saw a second floor in a Skybox?). Fantasy arenas include the Circus, Wild West, Pond, Medieval, and Classic Video Game. There's a no-helmet mode to go a long with big head mode, you can play the Heritage Classic, and while the old-time players aren't included on the classic teams, if you edit the names, the announcers will recognize the greats, calling out the likes of Gordie Howe. You can create teams, customize logos, and even help customize your own arenas. You can then replace any of the NHL teams with your created team and play them in Franchise.



Sounds good, eh guys? I hope the mini-games are super fun, so I can play it in my dorm room with people in my hall. Its cool how they will have the Heritage Classic game, with programmed voices (even though you have to type the names in yourself).

Hopefully this game can deliver, because I definitely do not want to pay full price for a hockey game this fall, lol.

[Typhoid]

I'll probably buy this one along with the EA one.



This one isnt out yet is it? And if not, whats the date and price, and if so, whast the price?:p




EDIT: Why is this thread in the dungeon?

[Joeiss]

The price is 19.99 like all other Sega Sports. And I believe it comes out in September.

[Bond]

NFL 2K5 came in the mail today. So far my impressions are mostly favorable. Packers beat the Bears 17-14 in the last seconds with a TD pass from Favre to Green.

[Joeiss]

Awesome man. Start a Franchise yet? Or just playing exhibition?